Rajasthan Government Tries to Douse Union Fire Over Pay Anomalies

Rajasthan Government Tries to Douse Union Fire Over Pay Anomalies

Jaipur: Faced with the ire of government employees over alleged anomalies in the implementation of 7th Pay Commission, the Rajasthan government on Saturday tried to assuage the employees by issuing a statement assuring them that the government is fully aware of their problems and will do the needful.

The statement comes in the backdrop of the ongoing strike by the in-service doctors and the convention of the various state government employees unions scheduled on November 13 in Ajmer. The disgruntled employees unions are likely to announce their agitation plans in Ajmer during the convention.

The government said, with the implementation of pay commission recommendations, the state will incur an expenditure of Rs 10,500 crore per annum. It added that the salary fixation work is on for the cash payment of the increased salary of the employees from October this year and soon the date from which arrears would be paid and mode of payment would be announced. If there are any more grievances, the committee constituted for the purpose would look in to it, it said.

The government claimed that there was an increase of 20-30% in salary and allowances of its employees in the wake of the pay revision. The maximum gratuity limit has been enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. It said the house rent allowance has also been increased to 16% in bigger cites and 8% in smaller cities in parity with the Centre. The annual increment has been maintained at 3% in the new pay revision as well from July every year. This would increase the salary of employees by 2.5% every year.

The government clarified that the reason for some employees getting less pay hike after the new pay revision. It said, in the interest of the employees below the grade pay of Rs 2,800, it had announced an increase in their grade pay in 2013 but by mistake their basic pay has also been increased in the running pay band. Thus the probationary trainee employees on regularization got the initial salary more than the basic salary of a promote employee to that post who is senior to him.

The government this time only tried to rectify that mistake. The additional hand out because of this mistake over the last four years is about Rs 400 crore which the government had to deduct from the salaries of these employees, but it decided against it, said the government.